Stars
by Kaizoku no Kazoku
Summary: While in the hospital, Gaara meets a boy who's cheerful and upbeat despite his serious illness. GaaraLee friendship. No pairing
1. A New Friend

**This is a fic I started a few years ago as a GaiLee story, unfortunately, I was unable to finish it. So... recently I rewrote it as a GaaraLee friendship story and this time I was able to finish it. I hope all of you who read this fic enjoy, and if you really like it, please fave and review, thank you! ^_^**

**Here we go!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Think if I asked Kishimoto-san nicely, he'd give it to me? No? Ah man...**

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Gaara was bored.

He was in a children's hospital being treated for a case of pneumonia, but feeling better after several days, he was bored. He sighed as he flicked through the channels on his television. What would really be nice would be if he could sneak up to the roof to get some much needed fresh air. The air in his room was stale and smelled of medicine and antiseptics. He briefly wondered when he'd be released. He wanted to get out of here.

Turning off his TV and getting up from his bed, he opened the door to his room and looked down the hall in both directions. Seeing no one coming or going, he stepped out.

* * *

As he stepped outside, a breeze that was warm for this time of year gently caressed his cheek. He breathed in deeply of the fresh outside air as he found a pair of benches a few yards away from the door. Heading toward them, he sat down on one. He draped his arms along the back of the bench, tilted his head back and closed his eyes. It felt good to be up here on the roof instead of his stuffy room.

"Um... Excuse me..."

Startled, Gaara opened his eyes. Beside him stood a boy around his own age, with big, round eyes, an impressive pair of eyebrows above them, and glossy, black hair that flipped outward at the ends. He was wearing a pair of green long-sleeved flannel pajamas with little brown and grey squirrels printed on them. They were a direct contrast to Gaara's own plain blue pajamas. The boy had a cranberry-apple juice box in his hand.

Gaara moved over to make room for the other boy even though there was the other bench nearby. The other boy smiled gratefully. "Thanks!" he said as he sat on the bench beside Gaara.

In truth, Gaara could use the company. He wouldn't admit it to himself, but he was lonely. His older brother and sister wouldn't be up to visit until sometime this evening, so he had no one to talk to right now. Maybe this boy would provide a bit of interesting conversation. It was he who spoke first.

"Hi, I'm Lee! What's your name?"

Gaara briefly looked at the offered hand before taking it into his own and shaking it once.

"Gaara."

Lee smiled even bigger. "I've never heard that name before. I like it!" He stuck the straw into his juice box and brought it to his lips with both hands. "So what are you in for?"

"Pneumonia. Weird, because I hardly ever get sick." Gaara said as he turned to look back up at the clouds. "You?"

Lee hesitated for a second, then he nearly whispered, "I've been having problems with my stomach. They think it might be cancer..." At Gaara's horrified look, he quickly added, "But they're not sure yet, they're still running tests." Then Lee grinned. He made a fist and curled his arm upward. "Don't worry about me. If it is cancer, I'm going to beat it and get strong again!" Then he went back to drinking his juice box.

Gaara tried to compose himself. After hearing something like that, he had to ask, "How old are you?"

"Twelve. I'll be thirteen this year in November." Lee smiled brightly. "I'll be a teenager!"

Gaara had already turned thirteen in January, but to him, it was no big deal. But he didn't tell Lee that. The corner of his mouth upturned a bit. "That's good, I think you'll like it."

"Do you want to see something really cool?" Lee asked, tossing his finished juice box into the trash receptacle.

Gaara wondered what Lee wanted to show him. "Sure." he smiled.

Lee walked over to the parapet at the edge of the roof. He motioned for Gaara to follow him. When Gaara was by Lee's side he looked outward. "You can see the whole city from up here!" Lee said enthusiastically. There were houses, stores, and other buildings as far as the eye could see, along with patches of green here and there.

"But you know when it's even better?" Lee asked leaning on the parapet with his arms crossed. Gaara did the same. "At night! The stars light up the sky, and the buildings and cars light up the city. It's really beautiful!"

"I'll bet it is." Gaara agreed, a smile on his own face. After a while he turned to Lee. "What will you do if you find out that it _is_... that."

Lee was silent for a spell, still gazing out at the city. After a while, he said, "I guess I'll have to go through with the treatments, I suppose. I wish I didn't have to though. I've heard they make you violently ill."

"Hm... Maybe you won't need to go through too many, if you have to go through with any at all." Gaara said reasonably. "You still don't know if it's _that_ yet, right?"

Lee shook his head solemnly.

"Well then." Gaara smiled, turning back to the scenery. "Try not to worry about it too much. Worrying will only make things worse."

After a minute, Lee's face lit up with a small smile. "You're right. I could be worrying over nothing." He turned to Gaara. "Thanks Gaara."

"You're welcome."

"Hey, do you want to go down to the snack bar and get something to eat?" Lee asked suddenly.

Gaara placed his hands on his belly. In all truth, he did feel a little hungry. He hadn't eaten his lunch today. It had been some kind of what looked like boiled chicken strips served on a bed of salad greens. It hadn't even looked appetizing, he certainly wasn't going to taste it to see if it was.

"Sure, why not?" he replied, "Probably beats what they gave me for lunch earlier."

"What did you have for lunch?" Lee asked as they went back inside and headed for the elevators. When Gaara told him, Lee made a face. "I had a bowl of chicken stew with lots of carrots and and peas in it. It was okay. I ate some of it, but I would have rather had a burger or something like that. Since I got sick, I haven't really been allowed to eat anything fun, just healthy stuff." He made another face. "I really shouldn't have anything from the snack bar either, but I guess it won't hurt, just this once."

Gaara listened to the energetic boy with interest as they walked to the snack bar. For someone with such a potentially serious illness, Lee was really upbeat. They quickly arrived at the snack bar where Gaara ordered a chili dog and a bottled soft drink, and Lee ordered a strawberry muffin and a milk.

"We can eat these in my room." Lee said cheerfully as they headed again for the elevators. "Come on!"

Gaara was starting to feel tired. All the walking he was doing was taking it's toll on him. Maybe he wasn't completely better yet, but he didn't say anything about how he was feeling to Lee. He followed Lee back to his room on the seventh floor.

As soon as they walked off the elevator, a nurse who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, stopped them. Smiling, she looked at Gaara for a second, then she addressed Lee, "I see you picked up a friend this time!"

"Yeah! His name's Gaara! I met him when I was up on the roof." Lee said enthusiastically. He turned to Gaara. "Gaara, this is Nurse Sakura. She's always watching out for me." He gave Gaara a wink.

"Speaking of watching out for you," she said smiling sweetly. "you know you're not supposed to have that." She told him pointing to the muffin.

Lee looked up at her plaintively. "Come on, please? Just this once?"

"Well, okay." She smiled, again. "Just this once 'cause you're my favorite patient!" She squeezed his cheek gently. Lee smiled shyly, covering his cheek with his hand.

Nurse Sakura turned to Gaara smiling, "Nice to meet a friend of Lee's." Her smile was contagious making Gaara smile back. "What are you in for if you don't mind my asking."

"Pneumonia." he said simply. "I was telling Lee that it was odd, because I rarely get sick."

"Is it okay if he stays with me in my room for a while?" Lee asked Nurse Sakura, "We won't disturb anyone."

"Well," she said, thinking for a second. "I guess it would be alright." She turned to Gaara. "But I'll have to inform the doctors and nurses on your floor, so they'll know where you are." She turned back to Lee. "You have fun while I'm gone, okay?"

Lee nodded, grinning. He turned to Gaara. "Come on!" And he took Gaara's wrist leading him to his room.

* * *

Gaara sat in a chair in Lee's room looking through books on different types of squirrels and their habitats. Lee was in his bed, blankets up to his chest watching TV, the half eaten strawberry muffin and the empty milk bottle on the table beside him.

Gaara noted that Lee was a really big fan of squirrels, having a big plush squirrel in his bed with him, a squirrel blanket, a few drawings he'd done of them taped to a wall, the books Gaara was reading now, even his house shoes were complete with a squirrely head and tail, again in contrast to his plain ones.

"You really like squirrels, don't you?" Gaara asked, closing the book and laying it down on his lap.

"Love them." Lee replied, as he turned the TV down. "One time? I was feeding one and he crawled into my hand!"

Gaara had never experienced anything like that before, and he was genuinely amazed. "It must have known that you liked them. Cats are like that also."

"Really? I like cats too." Lee said, rising to a sitting position. "I just wish I was allowed to have one."

"Why can't you have one?" Gaara asked, opening another book.

Lee's face took on a sullen appearance, as he looked away and explained. "I live in an orphanage and they don't allow pets of any kind."

Gaara's hairless brow shot up into his hair. "An orphanage? Where are your parents?"

"They died when I was really little. That's all I know about them." He sighed, bringing his knees to his chest and putting his arms around them. "I don't even have any memories of them."

The boys were silent for a while, and it was Gaara who spoke next. "In a way, I'm in the same boat you are. My parents are also dead."

Lee's head whirled around to stare at Gaara, while Gaara continued. "My mother died giving birth to me, and for a while, my father cared for me and my older brother and sister. Well he didn't actually care for me. He singled me out for abuse, because..." Gaara paused; a frown crinkling his brow. "Anyway, he was killed a few years ago by someone he'd thought of as a friend. Now my brother and sister care for me. I don't miss my father at all."

"I wish I had older siblings. The only person in my life right now besides the nurses and doctors I talk to here everyday, is my teacher, Gai-sensei." Lee told Gaara. "But he can't be here most of the day because he works at the school." Lee smiled again. "I'm glad I have you to talk to though. Being in the hospital is boring!" He stretched his hands above his head before lying back down, hands on his belly. "How much longer are you going to be here?"

"I'm not sure. They'll probably release me in the next day or so." Gaara said leaning back in his chair. "But I'll try to come back up here when I can to see how you're doing and talk to you."

Lee smiled again. It seemed that nothing could keep him down for long. "Thank you. I'd really like that."

Gaara smiled. "It's no problem for me."

After a long silence, hands behind his head, Lee quietly declared, "You know what? Once I beat this thing, when I grow up, I'm going to marry Nurse Sakura!"

In Gaara's opinion, she was quite a bit too old for Lee. At least twice his age from the looks of her. But then, he had heard of older women and younger men marrying and making happy lives together, so it was a possibility that they could get together one day. "That's a good goal to work for. Who's going to be your best man at your wedding?"

"You, of course!" Lee smiled proudly.

"Me? But you only just met me today." Gaara said.

"I know." Lee told him, gazing up at the ceiling. "But you'd be perfect!"

Gaara chuckled. "You're the only person who's ever told me I'd be perfect for anything."

Lee was about to reply when they heard a quiet knock on the door; Nurse Sakura stepping in, an apologetic look on her face. Lee sat up. "I hate to spoil your fun, Lee, but I have to take Gaara back to his room now so you can get some sleep."

Lee's face fell. "But I don't want a nap right now. I want to keep talking to Gaara."

"I'll come back up in a few hours." Gaara said to Lee as he stood up from his chair. "We can talk again then."

"Promise?" Lee asked as Sakura pulled up the railings on his bed.

"I promise." Gaara told him holding his hand up. "It'll just be a few hours."

"Okay." Lee said sadly, laying back down on his side as Nurse Sakura started to tuck him in. He looked up at her. "I'm not a little kid. I'm twelve years old."

"You don't want me to tuck you in anymore?" she asked sweetly. "You usually ask me to."

Lee's face went beet red. "N-no I don't!"

"Don't worry, Lee." Gaara said, coming back over to the bed. "I like to be tucked in too."

Lee's face quickly went back to normal. "I guess you can tuck me in this once." he said with mock annoyance, then he smiled.

Sakura tucked Lee into bed, Lee snuggling under his thick squirrely blanket. "Sweet dreams, Lee!" she said, then led Gaara out of the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

After they walked down the hall out of hearing range of Lee's room, Sakura spoke. "It's nice to see that Lee found a friend he can talk to and hang out with. He's told me that the kids at the orphanage tease and taunt him relentlessly. He doesn't let it get him down though. But I know it has to hurt."

Gaara understood. From as far back as he could remember, he'd also been teased and taunted by other kids, mainly because of his unusual appearance. "It does. I know. I've been through the same thing. It's one more thing we have in common."

Nurse Sakura asked him, "How long are you staying?"

"I'll probably be released sometime in the next couple days." Gaara answered, as he held the elevator door for her. "I promised Lee that I would come see him when I could though."

"That's good." she said as she leaned against the wall of the elevator. "He's going to be here long term if the tests come back positive for cancer. He'll need a friend he can talk to."

Gaara was silent for a bit. Then he spoke again. "You know? I was thinking earlier, that for someone with such a potentially serious illness, he sure is upbeat and energetic." They stepped off the elevator and walked to his room. "I don't know if I could be so upbeat if I had something like that weighing on my heart."

"Most days, he's not feeling very well." Sakura told him gently. "You happened to catch him on a really good day."

So this was an unusually good day for his newly made friend? Gaara thought about that as he climbed back into his own bed. He wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything, so he made up his mind to visit Lee everyday so that he wouldn't have to cope with his illness alone. Sakura's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Would you like me to tuck you in?" she asked Gaara coming over to his bed.

Gaara smiled, "I'd like that."

Being tucked in felt good to Gaara and, like Lee, he snuggled under the blankets. He whispered a "Thank you." as he closed his eyes.

* * *

After Gaara had had his dinner, and informed the receptionists on his floor as to where he was going, he went back up to the seventh floor. Going straight to Lee's room, he knocked quietly on the door. When he heard Lee's voice inviting him to enter, he peeked in. His eyes immediately landed on a man sitting in one of the chairs near the bed. He had the same eyebrows as Lee and glossy hair but in a bowl cut.

"Gaara!" Lee spoke quietly. The head of his bed was elevated a bit but he didn't sit up. Gaara wondered whether he was starting to feel sick again. Gaara was also starting to wonder whether the man was a relative of Lee's, when Lee spoke again. "Gai-sensei, this is Gaara, the friend I was telling you about who I met earlier up on the roof."

Gaara walked over to the bed, quietly greeting the man whom Lee had called his sensei.

"Hey! Nice to finally meet you, Gaara! Lee's told me a lot about you! He tells me you're cool!" Gai said in an even more boisterous voice than Lee had used earlier.

As Gaara pulled over a second chair, he said to Gai, "I'm just a normal thirteen year old. I'm not really what people would call cool." Sitting down, he smiled at Lee. "This is the first time anyone's called me that though." Then to start a bit of conversation, he asked, "So what did you have for dinner?"

"Turkey pot pie with a side of steamed vegetables." Lee answered, wrinkling his nose. He loved all kinds of food, just not hospital food.

Gaara chuckled. "I had spaghetti." At Lee's look of longing, he added, "Tasted like it came from the freezer though." Lee wrinkled his nose again.

"My dinner tasted almost like it was from a can." he said, adjusting his bed to sit up some more. "I'll bet it was too. At least the vegetables seemed fresh." he smiled.

Gaara smiled himself. Lee, ever the optomist.

Gaara glanced at the television. A DVD of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was playing. It was right at the scene where they were about to go into the Nut Sorting Room.

"I love this part!" he heard Lee say.

He turned to Lee smiling. "It's because you get to see the the squirrels chuck that bad little girl down the garbage chute."

"Yeah! I bet they'd consider me a good nut though. But then, I would respect their space and not barge down there and bother them like she did." Lee told Gaara as he watched the people in the movie file into the nut room.

"Why would you want to be a nut?" Gaara asked.

Lee only giggled at the question.

After a few minutes, the scene came on where the squirrels jumped all over Veruca Salt and proceeded to pin her to the floor. "This part's like something out of a horror film." Gaara said simply as he continued to watch.

"I couldn't agree more." Lee said. "There she goes!"

Then they both exclaimed in unison. "And she goes down the chute!" Lee giggled, and Gaara smiled.

The Oompa-Loompa's filed out then as the music started to play, and Lee began to sing along with them:

_Veruca Salt, the little brute_

_Has just gone down the garbage chute_

_And she will meet as she descends_

_A rather different set of friends_

_A rather different set of friends_

_A rather different set of friends..._

_A fish head, for example, cut_

_This morning from a halibut_

_An oyster from an oyster stew_

_A steak that no one else would chew_

_And lot of other things as well_

_Each with it's rather horrid smeeeeeeeell_

_Horrid smeeeeeeeell_

Gaara noted that Lee had a rather nice singing voice. It was as sweet as his laugh. He hoped that Lee's illness wasn't a serious one. It would be a shame for someone as sweet, friendly, and animated as Lee was to have such a serious illness as cancer. He looked out of the window and noticed that the sun had set and nightfall was fast approaching.

"Hey Lee." Gaara started. "You feel up to going to the roof again?"

"Yeah! I've seen this movie dozens of times." Lee told him. He turned to Gai. "Gai-sensei, I'm going to go up to the roof with Gaara. I'll be back in about an hour." Lee said, trying to lower one of the railings on his bed.

Gai, who hadn't said much because he'd been engrossed in the movie, said, "Okay. But take your coat, it's gotten cold since this afternoon." He pulled down the railing so that Lee could get out of bed.

"Yes, Gai-sensei." Lee said as he went to get his coat out of the closet. It was a small closet, but enough for Lee's pajamas and a coat. He quickly put it on, then said goodbye to Gai-sensei, and led Gaara out of the room.

* * *

Gaara noted as he gazed onto the nighttime city from high above, that Lee had been right. It was a clear night with the stars twinkling in the sky above their heads, and the cars and building with their various colored lights, lit up the earth below. It really was beautiful.

"So do you come up here every night?" Gaara asked Lee, still watching the lights below.

"Well, not every night." Lee said. He paused for a moment as if gathering his thoughts. "To be honest, some days I feel great, and others, well, not so great. It seems like most days, I feel bad. Today, I just happened to be lucky and feel great. That usually only happens for a day or two, then I feel bad again. Usually, I don't even feel up to getting out of bed."

He paused again, gathering his thoughts. "I-I think that the tests are going to come back positive. Actually, it's more of a gut feeling, and I don't know what to do. I don't want to feel even worse than I do now, with the treatments, but I know that if I don't receive them, I'll just get sicker, and eventually die. I don't want that."

He sighed, then continued. "I guess I really have no choice in the matter. Even if I don't want the treatments, they'll give them to me anyway, because I'm a kid. To them, I'm not old enough to make my own decisions." His eyebrows knitted in a worried frown. "I don't want to die, but I don't want to be sick either. I'm just so scared..." He rested his chin on his folded arms as the first tears that Gaara had seen come from the younger boy, streaked down Lee's face.

"I told you earlier though." Gaara started. "You don't even know what it is yet. It could be nothing. Well, maybe not nothing, but something not so serious. Like I said before, try not to worry. Worrying about it will only make things worse."

This time Lee didn't smile, but Gaara saw some of the worry leave his face. Gaara wasn't usually the type to touch or be touched, but he found himself squeezing Lee's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"I'm going to try my best to be there for you, through it all, whether it's just your stomach acting up or something more serious, I'll be there for you." Gaara said to his only friend.

"Thank you." Lee whispered, drying his eyes on one of his sleeves. "That means a lot to me..."

Gaara only smiled and turned back to the city nightline, hand still on Lee's shoulder.

**I love reviews, please leave me some to let me know how I did with this chapter, and I'll be your best bud forever! ^_^**


	2. The Diagnosis

**Here's the next chapter! Please review to let me know how you like it! Thank you ^_^**

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The city bus pulled to a stop in front of the children's hospital and Gaara walked to the front of the bus, getting off. Clutching his bento in one hand, a fruit basket in the other hand, and a squirrel calender under his arm, he walked with a purpose toward the hospital entrance.

* * *

Getting off the elevator, he headed for Lee's room. He knocked quietly, then peeked in before entering and shutting the door back.

Lee lay curled up in the bed, under his blanket. He looked up as Gaara came closer. One look told Gaara how Lee was feeling today. Misery was etched all over the poor boy's face.

"Hi Lee." Gaara greeted with a small wave of his hand. He set his bento and the fruit basket down on the nightstand and walked over to the bed, pulling the squirrel calender from under his arm and holding it out to Lee. "I found this at the mall and thought that you would like it."

Lee whispered, "... I do like it...Thank you, Gaara..." He squeezed his eyes shut and doubled over as another wave of nausea hit him.

"I'm just going to put this on the nightstand so you can look at it when you feel better." Gaara said as he went to do just that. He then pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down next to Lee. At first Lee lay quiet, writhing about every now and then with the nausea that had him firmly in it's grip. Gaara sat rubbing Lee's back through the blankets. After a while though, Lee groaned, then started to heave. Gaara jumped up and grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on, a thankfully empty pink hospital basin, and forced it under Lee's chin, just as the younger boy's stomach began to empty.

A bit splashed out of the basin, getting on Gaara's hand, but he didn't flinch, didn't move, just kept holding the basin as the other boy finished; his head falling back to the pillow exhausted.

Gaara set the basin on the bedtable, then poured Lee a cup of water. Holding his head up, he put the cup to Lee's lips so he could drink. When he was finished, he lay Lee's head back down, and put down the cup. Picking up the basin, he took it into the bathroom, and cleaned it and his hands before coming out of the bathroom and going back to Lee's bedside.

"...Thank you..." Lee whispered. "I feel a little better now..." Maybe he could get to sleep now. Gaara slowly rubbed Lee's back until he could hear the even breathing that indicated that Lee had fallen asleep. He gazed at Lee's sleeping face, seeing the misery he was in despite the fact that he was asleep. He thought back to a few days ago when Lee was so energetic and animated. Today was such a contrast to that.

Someone quietly knocked and entered. It was Nurse Sakura. She smiled sadly as her eyes rested on Lee, then Gaara.

"He's sleeping now. That's good." Sakura spoke quietly as she moved over to the side of the bed. Gaara moved his hand so that she could tuck the blankets around Lee. "Sometimes I wish I could hold these chronically ill children in my arms and make them all better. Has Lee told you his diagnosis?"

The tests had come back? Gaara hadn't known this. He shook his head.

"He... has an advanced case of stomach cancer." She told him, trying to be strong herself. "He'll be receiving surgery to remove the worst of it, then an aggressive set of treatments to try to get the rest, but his prognosis is poor."

"What's going to happen?" Gaara asked quietly, concern in his voice. "Is he..." he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"It'll depend on the how well the treatments work." Sakura answered sadly, stroking the sleeping boy's hair. "Hopefully they will slow the progress of the disease or stop it altogether."

Gaara frowned. Here Lee was suffering, possibly dying, from this serious illness, and there was nothing he could do about it, no way to help him. His only friend. In the end, Gaara decided that being there for Lee was indeed the best thing he could do.

"Why is it always the nice, sweet kids who get these horrible diseases?" she asked, pulling up another chair and sitting down in it. She looked at Lee. "They're so sweet, but a lot of them die from whatever it is they have. A few make a full recovery, but many of them don't."

"You really love the children here, don't you?" Gaara asked sincerely.

She nodded. "Especially the chronically and terminally ill children. And what's worse is that, some of them have been orphaned, like Lee." She turned to him. "Has Lee told you about that?"

"Yes, he has. It's another thing we have in common." Gaara stated, looking down at his hands. "But I have my older brother and sister to look after me. Lee doesn't have any family. Any that he knows of anyway."

"I guess in a way, we're his family." Sakura told him. "He seems to like me a lot in particular. I guess I'm sort of a big sister to him."

Gaara didn't tell her about Lee wanting to marry her when he got older since Lee may have wanted to keep it confidential for now. So he just nodded.

Sakura pushed herself up from the chair. "I really want to stay here with Lee, but I have to get back to work. If you're still here when he wakes up, tell him I'll be back to check on him, okay?"

"I will." The corners of Gaara's lips turned up into a small smile.

She spotted the squirrel calender on the nightstand next to Lee. She went over to it and flipped it over to see the back which showed small pics of the different squirrels for each month. "Where'd you get this?"

"At the mall." Gaara said simply.

"He's going to love it." Sakura said, as she put it back down. She walked over to the door. "I'll be back after a while. And thank you." She said, then left as quietly as she had come in.


	3. What If

**I love this chapter! I hope you do too ^_^**

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"What if we were ninjas?"

"Huh?"

Gaara was visiting Lee who'd had his surgery two weeks before. Lee was feeling a little better since the surgery, and seemed to be at least somewhat back to his normal self. Still, the unexpected question surprised Gaara.

"I said, what if we were ninjas?" Lee repeated. He was lying on his side in bed, with his squirrely blanket pulled up to his shoulders; his arms wrapped around his plush squirrel. "And we lived in a village full of ninjas who were our friends. And then... and then, there would be other ninja villages, and once or twice a year all the villages get together and compete in a contest to see which ninjas could advance in rank. We could join forces and win that contest and move up in rank together!"

"Where'd you come up with that all of a sudden?" Gaara asked, giving Lee an odd look.

"I just thought of it." Lee answered smiling. "Wouldn't it be cool?"

"Well yeah... that sounds really good and all," Gaara began. "but what if I was from a different village? Maybe an enemy ninja. What would you do then?"

"You'd never be my enemy." Lee said simply. "It'd be sort of a parallel universe, so even in that one, you'd still be my friend."

"Oh..." To be honest, what Lee had said made Gaara feel good. Leave it to Lee to always be optimistic. Then he had another thought. "Will Sakura be there?"

"Of course." Lee said in a way that suggested that it was totally obvious.

"Who would she be?" Gaara asked.

"She would be my age, maybe a bit younger... yeah, that would be nice, and she'd be my girlfriend." Lee told him as he hugged his plush squirrel to his chest.

"She'd be your age?" Gaara asked, confused. "But I thought that this was a parallel universe."

"Even in a parallel universe, there are things that aren't quite constants." Lee told him. "She would be a little younger than I am, and I could win her heart by protecting her from enemy ninja."

Gaara thought about that for a moment, then asked. "But what if they're stronger than you?"

Lee explained. "Gai-sensei would be my ninja teacher, so I'd have nothing to worry about."

The boys were silent for a while, each absorbed in his own thoughts. Then Gaara spoke quietly. "What if that parallel ninja universe actually exists out there somewhere, and where we're living is that universe's parallel universe?"

"Wow..." Lee breathed. "That'd be so cool!"

"It would, wouldn't it?" Gaara agreed. "And maybe in that universe, they could heal diseases and injuries more quickly than they can in this one."

"Meaning I won't be sick in that one." Lee smiled, thinking about that other universe. "I'd love to live there. Being a strong, healthy ninja sounds nice. I hate being sick all the time."

"But if you lived there, the other Lee would have to take your place here, and then he'd be sick." Gaara said reasonably.

"Oh yeah..." Lee said as he thought about it. "I guess I wouldn't want that other Lee to have to suffer like I do." he conceded.

"I wish you didn't have to suffer either." Gaara told him sincerely. "You're still just a kid. No kid should have to suffer from such serious illnesses."

"Thanks." Lee whispered, squeezing his eyes shut as he yawned.

"Tired?" Gaara asked.

Lee nodded. He hugged his squirrel plushie to his chest with one arm while rubbing his eyes with the back of his other hand. Gaara stood up and, reaching over the railing on Lee's bed, he lovingly pulled the blanket up to Lee's shoulders and tucked his friend in. "Have a good sleep and sweet dreams." he said quietly.

Lee nodded, eyes closed, as he buried his head into the pillow with a smile.


	4. Getting Out For Awhile

**I'm not sure I like this chapter. I wanted to write more on the zoo part, but I haven't been to one since I was about 7 or 8. Anyway, if you enjoy this chapter, please let me know with a review. Thanks ^_^**

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"You can really tell that summer's about to arrive." Gaara said to Lee as he walked into the latter boy's room and over to his bed, sitting in the nearest chair, and putting down the bag he held in his hand. It was late May now and the weather had gotten signifigantly warmer. Lee was in his bed lying on his back watching a commercial about the local water park on TV.

"Hi Gaara." Lee said as he turned to look at his friend. Then he looked at the TV again. "I wish I could go there..." he said wistfully. Gaara looked up at the TV as Lee continued. "I've never been to a water park before and it looks like those kids are having fun."

Lee had started his chemo and radiation treatments shortly after he'd had his surgery a few months ago. A lot of his hair had come out, and what grew back grew back fine and curly with less sheen, so there was an odd combination of curly and straight hair throughout his head. The curliness of the new hair made the straight hair stick out everywhere, rather than lying down like it had once done.

Gaara looked back up at the TV, seeing the end of the commercial. "They did look like they were having fun."

"I want to have fun sometimes too." Lee told him, crossing his arms. "I'm tired of being sick. I want to get out of here."

"I know you do." Gaara said, reaching over and laying a hand on Lee's shoulder. It was so thin, he could feel bone. "Oh. I almost forgot. I brought you something." He picked up the bag, and fished around in it briefly before pulling out a wrapped gift. He handed it to Lee.

The smile on Lee's face as he ripped open the wrapping and discovered what was inside, made it all worth it to Gaara.

"It's a music box!" Lee exclaimed happily as he removed it from it's packaging. It was round with little flowers and acorns on a green grass background around the sides, and on top, a little gray squirrel was standing; little arms open wide, waiting to spin around slowly to the music. "I love this! Thank you so much, Gaara!" He wound up the music box with the small key on the bottom, and watched the squirrel go around to a soft tinkling tune.

"This sounds nice." Lee said as he closed his eyes, relaxing to the music.

There was a knock at the door, and Lee turned towards the sound, eyes lighting up at the sight of his sensei. "Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!" Gai said not-quite-loudly-enough to disturb the other patients on Lee's floor. He smiled warmly at Gaara. "Hi Gaara!" Then he spotted the music box Lee held in his hands. "That's really cute! Where did you get it?"

"It was a gift from Gaara, Gai-sensei." Lee said smiling. Since they'd met, Gaara had given him a lot of squirrely gifts and he cherished them all, especially this one. "I really like it!"

"I do too." Gai said sitting down in another chair.

Lee looked up as another commercial came on. This time, they were advertising the local zoo. Lee had never been there before either, and he sighed, picking up the remote control and pointing it at the TV.

"You look like you want to go there too." Gaara observed.

"I do. I've never been to a zoo before either." Lee said, turning the channel to a cartoon, and putting the control down.

"Would you like to go there today?" Gai asked Lee. Lee's eyes lit up as Gai continued. "It's still early enough where we can spend a few hours there, and return before you have to go to bed."

"Can Gaara come too?" Lee asked, trying to sit up. Gaara noted that Lee had to make an effort to do this.

Gai and Gaara aided him in sitting up. "Of course he can, why not?"

"Yay!" Lee threw his fists in the air.

While Gaara went to get Nurse Sakura, Gai pulled down the railing on one side of Lee's bed, and helped Lee dress in play clothes for the outing. He dressed in a pair of long green cargo shorts, a white short-sleeved shirt with a matching green stripe down the sides of the sleeves, and a pair of green sandals with yellow trim. He slipped on his watch just as Nurse Sakura walked into the room with a wheelchair.

"I see you're feeling good enough to go out today." Sakura said smiling as she reached to help Lee into the chair.

"Can't I go without the wheelchair?" Lee asked, disappointed that he wouldn't be allowed to walk.

Sakura smiled sadly as she helped Lee into the chair. "I know you want to walk on your own, and maybe one day you can, but right now, you have to use the chair, okay?"

Lee just looked down at his hands.

"Tell you what. I'll put you into a power wheelchair. You can control it yourself, so you might like it better than this one."

"Okay..." Lee sighed, hands fidgeting as if they didn't know what to do with themselves.

"Come on." And she pushed Lee out of the room. A few minutes later, Lee came back through the door followed by Sakura, strapped into a red power wheelchair with a less depressed look on his face.

* * *

"Two adult passes and one children's pass please." Gai said to the man in the admission booth.

The man took the money and, smiling, gave each of them a pass and a map. "Thank you, and enjoy your stay." he said.

"So! What do you want to see first?" Gai asked Lee as they walked around.

"Do they have tigers here?" Lee said as he stopped his wheelchair to peer at his map.

"I believe so." Gaara was looking at his map as well, then pointed out to Lee where the wildcats were. "But they're all the way across from where we are."

"The whole zoo is a big circle." Gai told the boys. "We could just start here, and go around until we're back where we started."

"That's a good idea." Gaara said folding his map back up. "That way we can see everything." Gaara took out a camera that he'd gotten from home when Gai had stopped there for him to change clothes. He'd made sure that he'd had fresh batteries before leaving the house. He smiled. "Let's go!"

* * *

The two boys gazed in wonder and took pictures of each other and of the various animals in the zoo, the zebras, gazelles, giraffes, elephants, rhinos and other big animals. Then they went to see the wildcats: lions, tigers, leopards, ocelots and others. After that they came to a petting part of the zoo, and pet and fed the chinchillas, rabbits, ferrets, weasels, even squirrels, which delighted Lee no end.

"I think we should start heading back now." Gai said after awhile as he peered at Lee's flushed face. "You look tired."

Lee shook his head. "I'm fine, I just need some more water." He shook his empty bottle in illustration. "Other than that, I'm having fun."

"He's right." Gaara added. "You shouldn't overexert yourself."

"I'm okay," Lee countered. "I'm riding in a power wheelchair."

Lee was having fun despite the fact that the heat was getting to him. But he couldn't let Gai-sensei know that. He'd be back at the hospital faster than he could blink. It wasn't very hot, but in his weakened state, it was still nearly too much.

"Still, it's close to your dinnertime so we do have to get back." Gai said reasonably. "Maybe we can come back another day."

That actually sounded good to Lee, who was getting tired despite the fun he was having. "Okay." He ate the last bit of his cotton candy before he thumbed the control on his wheelchair, moving it forward.

* * *

"Good to see you back!" Nurse Sakura beamed at Lee. "Did you have a good time?"

Lee beamed right back, speaking excitedly as everyone made their way down the hall to Lee's room. "I did! I saw lots of big animals like elephants and rhinos, lions and tigers, but the best part was the petting zoo! A chinchilla is so soft! And he was friendly too!"

"He was? That's nice. I'm glad you had fun today." Sakura smiled, squeezing Lee's hand gently. "You're going to love what you're having for dinner this evening."

"What is it?" Lee asked excitedly.

"You'll see!" She said as they turned into Lee's room. Sakura undid the straps holding Lee in the chair, helped him to sit on the bed, then she took the chair from the room.

Another nurse came into the room to help Lee with his bath. While he was in the bathroom, Gai and Gaara engaged in a bit of small talk. Just as Lee came out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of short-sleeved light-blue pajamas with another squirrel print, Nurse Sakura brought Lee his dinner.

She helped Lee into bed and covered him with his blanket. Lee lifted the cover from the plate... "Curry with rice!" he exclaimed happily. "My favorite!"

"Hope you enjoy. I asked the cooks to prepare this especially for you."

"Thank you so much!" Lee said as he dug in.

Gai took that as his cue to bid everyone goodnight, hugging Lee before leaving the room.

"Smells good." Gaara said referring to the curry, pulling his chair closer to Lee's bed.

"What's your favorite food?" Lee asked Gaara as he ate.

He pondered the question for a few seconds. "I don't really have a favorite." he finally said. "I like a few different things, I can't really pick one."

"I like ramen, onigiri, and takoyaki too!" Lee announced happily. "I like all kinds of food, but curry's my favorite."

"I see." Gaara smiled as Lee wolfed down his food. Lee stuck the straw into his cranberry-apple juice box, took a few swallows, then started back on his curry.

"So is that your favorite thing to drink?" Gaara asked, pointing to the juice box.

Lee nodded as he spooned up the last bite and devoured it, smiling. "This and milk." he said. He moved his table aside and burrowed under his blanket. The air conditioning was cold to him and he was tired. Nurse Sakura came in and removed his plate.

"Ready for bed?" Sakura asked gently. Lee nodded; his face being the only thing visible from the blankets.

Gaara picked up the music box, winding it for the younger boy. He set it down near Lee's head and watched as the boy smiled appreciatively.

"I'm not sleepy yet, but thank you, Gaara." Lee said as he closed his eyes. Five minutes hadn't passed before he'd fallen into a peaceful slumber.


	5. Storm

**Here's the next chapter, enjoy! ^_^**

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Gaara saw the huge lightening bolt flash with a loud crash of thunder following not a second after. He hurried into the shelter of the hospital to get out of the dangerous weather.

When Gaara got to Lee's room, he knocked quietly as he always did, and peeked in. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to the bed where Nurse Sakura was sitting, trying to calm the frightened boy. Thunder and lightning didn't seem to bother Lee too much, unless he was feeling sick. Today he must have been feeling really bad because his eyes were squeezed shut, with tears running down his face. His arms were around Sakura, clutching at her shirt as he buried his face into her chest.

"Lee." Sakura spoke in a quiet, gentle voice as she held on to Lee. "Gaara's here to see you. I really want to stay with you but I can't. I have to work. I'll come back in a little while to see how you're doing, okay?"

"No, please stay with me!" Lee's muffled voice begged. "I don't want to be alone."

"You won't be, Gaara is here." Sakura told him, gently stroking his hair.

"He is?" Lee said as if he only just now heard what Sakura had said. He turned to peer at Gaara, his head still cradled on Sakura's chest. Gaara smiled, waving a little, saying "Hi Lee." in the way of a greeting. A particularly loud thunder clap sounded just then, the lights flickered, and Lee's eyes squeezed shut once more.

"I'll be with you, Lee." Gaara said, coming closer to the bed. "You don't have to be afraid."

"It's not that I'm afraid..." Lee murmured from Sakura's chest. Another crash of thunder made Lee flinch violently. "...It-It just bothers me... that's all."

"It's okay to be afraid, Lee." Gaara consoled him. Then in a gentle voice, he said, "Let Nurse Sakura go back to work, and I'll keep you company."

Just as Gaara was beginning to think that Lee hadn't heard him, Lee slowly relinquished Nurse Sakura and wiped at his reddened and puffy eyes.

"I'll be back to check up on you a little later, okay Lee?" Sakura said as she gently stroked Lee's cheek. She got up, grabbing a few tissues and dabbled at the wetness on her shirt as she walked to the door. "I'll be back soon." And with that she was gone.

Lee only nodded. Gaara slid down the bed railing so that he could sit on the bed. Another crash, and Lee was clinging to him as he'd done Sakura. "I never feel good anymore..." he whispered to Gaara. Sniffling, he asked plaintively, "Why do I have to be sick all the time?"

It was late August, nearly September, and Lee's health was at a steady decline. There were never good and bad days any more, just bad and worse days. Gaara held Lee tightly. "I wish there was something, _anything_, I could do. I wish I could give you my good health."

A bang loud enough to make even Gaara flinch sounded outside, and all power went dead for a second. Then the generators kicked in, and everything was back to normal. Lee was maintaining a death grip on Gaara, who was stroking his hair as the storm raged on outside.

"Here, lie down so you'll feel better." Gaara said to Lee. "I usually like to sleep when it storms." He kicked off his shoes, wrapped Lee in his blanket, and lay down with the sick boy still in his arms.

Lee seemed to feel better, more secure, with his blanket around him, in addition to Gaara's arms. After a long while. Lee spoke quietly. "Even if you could give me your health, I wouldn't take it. Because you're too important to me to go through what I have to go through everyday."

Gaara eyes went wide in surprise. "But you're still so young, you deserve to have good health."

"But so do you." Lee countered. "You should cherish your health."

"I know... But you're my best friend." Gaara started. "And it hurts to see you so sick. Oh Lee..."

"Please don't worry about me." Lee told Gaara, only just noticing that the storm was passing and the thunder getting lighter. "There are other sick kids here too, some worse off than I. You should probably worry more about them."

That was another thing about Lee. He often thought of others before himself. "I do worry about them sometimes." Of course, Lee was someone Gaara knew personally, so naturally he worried about him more. Lee was almost like a little brother to him. "But I don't know them like I know you."

Both boys were silent for awhile, Lee lying next to Gaara; his head on Gaara's chest. By now, there was only the occasional rumble of ever distant thunder peppering the silence. Lee sighed. Gaara suspected that it was from relief at the storm's passing. Lee looked up at his friend. "Thank you, Gaara."

Gaara's hairless brow furrowed a bit. "For what?"

"For being my friend, and helping me with everything." Lee said quietly.

"It's no problem for me." Gaara smiled at his friend. He stroked Lee's soft hair. "Rest now, and I'll watch over you."

Lee nodded and closed his eyes.

* * *

The next time Sakura came in, she spotted the two boys asleep in the bed. Smiling warmly, she stepped back out of the room, silently closing the door.


	6. My Wonderful Friend

**Here's the next chapter. I like it a lot! I enjoyed writing it, so I hope you enjoy reading it! And let me know what you think ^_^**

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Gaara walked into the entrance of the hospital, grateful to get out of the chill of the late October evening. It was only 5:00 pm, but it was already starting to get dark. He stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the seventh floor. Leaning against the wall, he sighed. It was hard for Gaara to see his friend's health go downhill with each passing day. Lee had just been declared terminal the day before. He wasn't expected to live out the year.

Gaara wanted to cry, but he knew he had to be strong. Strong for Lee.

The elevator stopped, the doors opened and he walked slowly out and down the hall. Reaching Lee's room, he knocked quietly, then opened the door and stepped in, closing it quietly behind him.

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"Look, Gaara! A shooting star!" Lee exclaimed, though it sounded odd in his now small, weak voice. "Let's make a wish." Lee closed his eyes to concentrate on his wish.

The lights were out in Lee's room and the curtains open so that they could see outside. It was now nearly dark and Gaara was sitting up in the bed holding his best friend close to him. Gaara didn't close his eyes, but made his wish anyway. He wished for the miracle that would give Lee a full recovery. Wished for he and Lee to be able to grow up together. Wished for Lee to finally be able to ask Sakura to marry him. He knew these wishes wouldn't come true, but he could hope.

"What did you wish for, Gaara?" Lee's small voice drifts into Gaara's conciousness. Gaara told him what all he'd wished for.

"That's three wishes, but there was only one-" Lee was interrupted by two more stars shooting across the sky.

"What was it you were you saying?" Gaara smiled down at Lee, who only laughed quietly. After a moment, Gaara asked, "What was your wish?"

"I thought that, if I have to go, I'd like to come back as a squirrel." Lee quietly told him, looking down at the plushie wrapped in his arms. "They seem to lead such carefree lives, so that's what I wished for."

Gaara smiled sadly. He most likely wouldn't get his wishes, but Lee might get his. His life just might be better as a squirrel than it was as a human. "I hope you get your wish."

"Me too." Lee sighed, shivering. "They're so cute with their big, fluffy tails. I want to be one so badly."

Gaara noticed Lee shivering despite the warm temperature of the room and the fleece pajamas he was wearing, and he pulled up the blanket and wrapped it around Lee some more.

"Thank you, Gaara..." Lee breathed as he closed his eyes. He rested his eyes a moment, then opened them again. "If I do come back as a squirrel, I'll find you, run over to you and place a nut in your hand. That way you'll know it's me. Okay?"

"Okay." Gaara smiled. He didn't really believe in reincarnation, and even if he did, he wasn't sure that things would work out the way Lee thought they would. But he agreed anyway.

Lee smiled. He _did_ believe in reincarnation, and was happy that Gaara agreed.

"I wonder if I'll be up there soon." Lee said, after a while, pointing at the stars. "At least until I'm born again as a squirrel."

"Up there as a new star?" Gaara asked, not really believing in that either, but not wanting to disappoint Lee. "Maybe. And maybe you'll be one of the really bright ones too."

Gaara paused, lost in though for a while. He'd never had a friend like Lee before. Lee was just so nice to hang around with. He wasn't negative like so many other people in this world, and yet... And yet, he had this terrible illness. This terrible terminal illness that was going to eventually kill him. This sweet, outgoing, ever-positive young boy was going to die soon. And there was Nothing He Could Do About It.

Lee looked up. "What are you thinking about?"

Gaara smiled sadly, eyes filling with tears. "Just thinking about what a wonderful friend you are to me." 'And how much I'm going to miss you' was what he didn't add. He wiped his eyes before Lee could see.

"You're a wonderful friend to me too. I really mean that." Lee smiled up at Gaara again, before he moved to lie down. He was tired, getting more tired these days with his illness wearing him down like it did.

Lee shivered again and Gaara covered the sick boy with his blanket. "You know? I never told you this, but my birthday is November 27th. I hope I get to see it one last time."

Gaara eyes filled with tears again, which slid down his face before he could stop them. "You will Lee... You will..."

"I'm sorry." Lee said, a sullen look on his face. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

"It's all right, I'll be okay..." Gaara wiped at his face with the back of his hand.

"Here." Lee handed Gaara his squirrel plushie. "He'll make you feel better. He always does for me when I'm feeling sad."

Gaara gently took the plushie from Lee's hands. It was big and squeezably soft with a large fluffy, floppy tail. "What his name?"

"Lazarus." Lee stated proudly. "I came up with it one day a long time ago."

"Lazarus. Good name." Gaara told him, smiling through his tears as he hugged the plushie.

"See?" Lee said sleepily. "He's made you happier already."

Then, because he felt as if he may not get another chance to say it, he continued. "One day soon, he will be yours, along with all my other stuff. Please take care of him for me. Promise me, okay?"

"I promise." Gaara whispered.

"Thank you." Lee whispered back, relieved. He burrowed under the blankets and closed his eyes. Gaara tucked Lazarus into Lee's arms, then rubbed Lee's back until he could hear his soft snores.


	7. A Last Gift

**Really short chapter. Probably won't even need the scroll bar for this one, but next chapter will be longer. Doesn't it seem like Lee goes to sleep at the end of each chapter?

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"Lee?" Gaara poked his head in the door, quietly calling to his friend. Weak eyes slowly opened and looked his way. Gaara smiled sadly as he stepped in and quietly, very quietly, closed the door behind him and walked over to Lee's bed with a bag in his hand. Lee gave a weak smile back.

Lee was wrapped up in a few thick blankets, wearing his fleece pajamas, and the temperature in the room was blazing, but still he shivered. Gaara kicked off his shoes, and got into the bed to hold his best and only friend close.

Lee was too tired and weak to speak, so he just relished the presence of his friend.

"Look what I brought you." Gaara spoke in a near whisper as Lee started to close his eyes again. They popped back open as Gaara pulled something out of a bag. It was a Squirrel Pillow Pet. Lee's smile was instantly back. "An early birthday present." Gaara continued, glad to see the happy smile on Lee's face.

Lee reached out with both hands to hold it. Gaara placed it into his arms. Lee held it close to him for a long while, communicating his thanks with his eyes. Gaara tucked Lazarus beside him.

By now, Gaara was cherishing every moment he could spend with Lee, even to the point of neglecting the homework his school teachers gave him, just to spend time with his friend. After all, he could catch up with that anytime, but he only had a very limited time to spend with Lee. Homework could be put on the backburner.

Gaara curled his arms around Lee hugging him. "Oh Lee..." he whispered, sniffling. A tear fell into Lee's now sparse hair, and he looked up at Gaara sadly.

"I'm sorry..." Gaara choked out. "I don't mean to worry you." he dried his tears.

Lee closed his weary eyes, and it wasn't long before he was asleep again; Gaara holding him.

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**One more chapter and an epilogue left**


	8. One Little Star

**Break out the Kleenex for this one, folks.**

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Gaara rode the schoolbus home, anxiety in his heart. When he got there, he let himself in, put down his backpack, quickly changed clothes, and grabbed a coat, knit cap, and gloves. Grabbing also some money and his keys, he locked the door behind him and walked to the city bus stop. He only had to wait a few minutes in the frigid air of the late fall afternoon before the bus arrived.

He stepped onto the bus thinking about Lee, nearly forgetting to pay his fare. He dropped some coins into the fare box, and went to get a seat. A lot of the seats were empty this time of day and he sat in his usual spot.

He sat gazing out of the window; his mind firmly on Lee. He'd been on a morphine drip since the day Gaara had given him his last gift and he briefly wondered how much longer the younger boy had. The thought made him want to cry, so he occupied his mind reading the ads pasted up onto the interior of the bus.

It wasn't long before he reached his stop, getting off. His feet on automatic, he went through the entrance of the hospital, took the elevator to the seventh floor, got off and walked down to Lee's room.

Quietly, he knocked, and peeked in. Lee was asleep in his bed; Nurse Sakura and Gai on either side of him. He walked over to Lee's bedside to stand by Nurse Sakura. He looked down at the sleeping figure in the bed. No one had to say anything. Going by the somber mood in the room, today would be the last day that Gaara would see his friend alive.

The worst thing was, today was Lee's birthday, and instead of spending his first day as a teenager at a nice party, with a bunch of friends and family, he was dying in a children's hospital, no family and only one friend to be beside him as he passed.

It wasn't fair.

He held the tears that threatened to spill inside, because he had to be strong for Lee. Soon, Lee would be with his parents. Soon, Lee would suffer no more. Gaara's sharp ears could hear Lee's breathing become more shallow with each breath he took. He picked up the younger boy's hand and held it in both of his. Lee's other arm was around Lazarus.

Lee was hardly breathing at all now, and Gaara squeezed his hand in an effort to keep Lee breathing and therefore alive.

In the end though, Lee took one last shuddering breath, and then he lay still. Gaara held his hand a moment longer, then placed it once again around Lazarus. If he didn't know better, he'd think Lee was still sleeping. Lee looked so peaceful, so serene; the lines of pain gone from his face. Gaara gently stroked Lee's cheek, then quietly, without a word, left the room.

* * *

As frigid as it was today, Gaara sat on the bench on the roof of the hospital once more. His eyes were red and his face streaked with drying tears. He lay his elbows on his knees, and covered his eyes with his hands as memories played out in his mind.

_"Don't worry about me. If it is cancer, I'm going to beat it and get strong again!"_

_"You know what? Once I beat this thing, when I grow up, I'm going to marry Nurse Sakura!"_

Lee would now never get the chance to marry Nurse Sakura.

_"I'm tired of being sick. I want to get out of here."_

Gaara took relief in the fact that Lee was no longer suffering now.

Gaara removed his hands from his eyes and scratched at the salt on his face with a finger. He walked over to the stone parapet and rested his folded arms on it. He could feel the chill of it through his coat, but he didn't care. He gazed out at the city. It was almost dark now, and the city and sky were lighting up beautifully.

Gaara watched as a brand new star he hadn't seen before twinkled brightly amongst the others. If he didn't know better, he'd think it was Lee.

"It's really beautiful, isn't it?" A scratchy, high-pitched voice spoke from his left. Gaara spun around startled. A boy with short, spiky blond hair smiled back at him. He had whisker-like marks on each cheek.

Gaara blinked in surprise, then he replied, "Yeah... It-It is..."

"What's your name?"

"Gaara..."

"Nice to meet ya, Gaara!" The blond boy said. "Name's Naruto."

"Nice to meet you too." Gaara replied.

"You here to visit a friend?" Naruto asked as he turned to view the scenery once again.

Gaara nodded slowly. "Actually... he died today." Tears filled his eyes, once more. He wiped them away. More fell.

Naruto turned back to Gaara, sympathy on his face. "I'm sorry."

"And the worse thing was, today was his thirteenth birthday." Gaara said, voice thick with tears. "He should have been out celebrating, not dying in a children's hospital... He'd been sick for a long time though, so I guess maybe it's good that he's in a better place now..."

"Yeah..." Naruto said quietly.

"He used to like to come up here, and look at the scenery, especially at night." Gaara said laying his chin on his arms. A dove feather lay on the parapet just to his right. He picked it up and twirled the tip between his fingers. "He was my only friend." He blew on it at the same time he let it go, and it wound it's way through the air on it's way to the ground.

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Naruto said, then after a minute, he spoke again. "I'd be happy to be your friend too. Not to replace him, but to be a listening ear, if you need to talk. What was his name, anyway."

"Lee."

"Tell me about Lee."

* * *

**A Few Days Later...**

Gaara clutched a photo of himself and Lee, taken by Gai at the zoo, in his hand. In it, Gaara was standing to the right of Lee, their arms draped across the other's shoulders, and Lee was grinning ear to ear, eyes squeezed shut. Lee had his left hand up in a peace sign. They were in front of the monkey exhibit, Gaara standing and Lee in his power wheelchair. It had been one of the many places where they'd taken pictures that day, but for some reason this particular shot had been Lee's favorite.

Gaara's eyes teared up again as he thought back to that day. It had been one of those rare days when Lee hadn't felt so sick. A day he could cut loose and really have fun, within reason of course. He'd remembered that Nurse Sakura had been happy that Lee had felt good enough to go out, get out of the hospital which had practically been his home for the last several months, for a change.

Nurse Sakura.

He still hadn't told her how Lee had really felt about her. He wasn't sure whether or not he should. But then, Lee hadn't actually said anything about not telling her. But Lee hadn't told her himself either, so he just didn't know.

He was going to go back to the hospital later today to collect the rest of Lee's things, maybe he could talk to Sakura then.

* * *

It bothered Gaara to see another child in the room that Lee had occupied for so long, and he had to remind himself that this child was as sick as Lee had been and needed just as much time and attention as Lee had. He sighed, and walked to the storage room with Sakura to gather the last of Lee's belongings.

"This is the last of it." She sighed sadly as she handed Gaara a box that contained Lee's DVDs and books. She draped Lee's squirrel blanket over one of his arms. Gaara noted that it still smelled faintly of Lee. He made up his mind never to wash it. Sakura closed and locked the door to the storage room, and they walked together down the hall.

After a moment, Sakura quietly said, "I'm really going to miss him."

Gaara nodded in agreement. "Me too... But I guess he's in a better place now."

They approached an empty bench in the hall and sat down, Gaara setting down the box of Lee's belongings beside him. "I have something to tell you..." he began.

"What is it?" Sakura asked quietly.

"It's something Lee told me, the day we met." Gaara went silent for a few minutes before he spoke, looking down at his hands. "He liked you..."

At her uncomprehending look, he continued. "I mean, he _really_ liked you. I mean, as more than a friend."

"Oh... I see." She said, a small smile on her face and a light blush on her cheeks.

Gaara smiled sadly himself as he gazed back down at his hands. "Said to me that when he got better, he was going to grow up and marry you." Tears came unbidden to Gaara's eyes as that particular memory surfaced. In less than ten short months, the once alive and vibrant and positive Lee, was now only a memory in Gaara's heart. As much as he tried to hold it in, a sob broke forth, and Sakura gathered him in her arms, as he let loose into her shoulder.

"It's okay to cry, Gaara..." She said as she stroked his hair. "We all miss Lee..." A few tears slipped from her own eyes as she held onto Gaara. "But as long as we remember him, he'll live on in our hearts..."

* * *

"Here, let me help you with that." Naruto said as he reached for the box in Gaara's arms. He'd stayed behind in the lobby as Gaara went to complete his business, now he hurried over to him to help with the items in his arms.

Gaara hesitantly handed over the box, but kept a firm hold on the squirrel blanket. Understanding the situation, Naruto reliquished the blanket.

"I wonder what made him love squirrels so much?" Naruto asked as his eyes fell once again on the blanket as they walked out of the doors of the hospital.

Gaara thought for a moment before replying. "You know? He never really told me, and I never thought to ask."


	9. Epilogue

**Last chapter everyone! Hope you all like it!

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**18 MONTHS LATER**

_"Chit, chit, chit!"_

Gaara was sitting on a bench in a park near his home. Naruto and a few of their other friends were playing dodgeball in a field. Gaara wasn't very good at this game, so after getting hit, he sat out the rest of the game.

_"Chit, chit, chit!"_

Gaara and Naruto had become friends that day in late November, and went on to become best friends. From there, Naruto introduced him to his other friends, friends who accepted Gaara as Lee had once done.

_"Chit! Chit! Chit! Chit!"_

Gaara leaned back and watched the squirrels play in the sunlit branches of the trees, wondering whether one of them was Lee before dismissing the idea.

_"CHIT!"_

Gaara turned at the sound to see a pretty little brown squirrel standing next to him on the bench with a tiny nut in it's little hands. It wasn't quite fully grown yet, and he smiled as the squirrel came closer to him. Then remembering what Lee had once said to him so many months ago, he lowered his hand, palm up, down to the little squirrel's level. The squirrel looked up at him, then down at the hand, placing the nut securely into Gaara's palm.

Gaara smiled as he closed his hand over the nut. Putting it into his pocket, he extended his hand for the squirrel to climb onto, which it did. He raised the little squirrel to eye level, speaking quietly. "Oh Lee, I'm so glad you got your wish!"

The squirrel appeared to smile, Gaara smiling back, and he lowered his hand to the ground. The little squirrel looked up at him one last time, then scampered off to rejoin his squirrely friends. He waved goodbye to the little animal before pushing up off the bench to rejoin his own friends.

And he thought as he did so, that maybe that star had been Lee after all.

END

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**I want to send great big thank you's to everyone who reviewed and commented! Even the ones who didn't review or comment, but favorited and put it on Story Alert, thank you too! I also want to thank **_**Roving Otter**_** for helping me when I'd get stuck. It was fun writing this, so I'm happy that it was well received! Thank you all again so much!**

**Senpuu**


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